In August 1947, Great Britain withdrew from India, which it had governed for nearly 200 years, leaving behind two nations, modern India and Pakistan. India inherited the British legacy, as well as the subcontinent s rich and diverse history of peoples, religions, and cultures. Pakistan was created to protect the interests of India s Muslims, the region s largest religious minority. The partition of India took place amid much conflict and violence, leaving tensions that remain unresolved today. Indian and Pakistani armies still face each other in the northern province of Kashmir, the site of a standoff now more than five decades old, and both nations are now nuclear powers. At the beginning of the 21st century, the fairly new border between the two nations remains one of the world s flashpoints.